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Chicken, Corn, and Butter Bean Soup

Welcome to the 3rd Annual Soup Party! To scare away winter doldrums my mom hosts a soup party to bring friends and family together. Everyone brings their best soup and leaves with a full belly. After the tasting, votes are cast for the best soup of the year and a trophy is awarded. The same trophy is used year after year and the winner’s name is written on the back. This year I made an award winning Chicken, Corn, and Butter Bean Soup!

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

1 bay leaf

6 peppercorns

7 chicken breasts

1 stick of butter

3 onions

8 pieces fatty bacon, chopped

1/3 cup flour

2 1/2 cups whole milk, divided

1 lb frozen corn

2 (14 oz) cans butter beans, rinsed

3 tbs chopped parsley

salt and pepper, to taste

(This makes a ton of soup, so if you are not serving a large party it can easily be cut in half.)

To add flavor to the chicken broth, cut the carrots and celery stalks into large pieces. Make sure you count out 6 peppercorns so you know exactly how many to take out. No one wants to unexpectedly bite into a peppercorn!

Place the chicken broth, carrots, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add in the whole chicken breasts and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken from the broth and let cool on a cutting board. Reserve the broth.

While the chicken is cooking, chop up the onions.

Melt the butter in a large pot and add in the onions, cooking for about 5 minutes until softened. Chop the bacon and add it into the pot as well, cooking for 5-6 minutes or until it begins to brown.

Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously.

Strain the broth to remove the carrots, celery, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Make sure all 6 peppercorns are accounted for! Slowly mix the hot broth into the pot and bring to a boil, stirring until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the corn and half (1 1/4 cups) of the milk.

Return to the heat and cook for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the chicken breasts into bitesize pieces.

Add the chicken to the soup, along with the rinsed butter beans and remaining milk. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.